Easter events

Daily Info's Easter game: Bunny's Battle

Easter opening hours

Most shops (even those that are normally open on Sundays and Bank Holidays) will be closed on Easter Sunday. There will also be changes to transport timetables - so it's probably best to check in advance whether the buses and trains are running! A brief overview is provided here, but specific companies' websites can provide opening hours in greater detail.

Transport

Trains, buses, and coaches will all be operating reduced services, while many services will be suspended. Oxford Tubes will be operating a Sunday service on Friday, Sunday and Monday while the Oxford Bus Company's timetable varies depending on the service. If you're planning to visit London this weekend, bear in mind that there will be tube closures , Overground disruption (on many of the branches), and significant roadworks.

Shops

Shopping centres will be operating reduced hours on Easter Monday, and closed on Easter Sunday. For supermarkets, the larger stores (i.e. Tesco Metros and Sainbury's Superstores) will all be closed on Easter Sunday, and operating reduced hours on Good Friday and Easter Monday. The smaller shops (i.e. Tesco Express, Sainbury's Local) will remain open as usual throughout the weekend.

Fun Easter facts

1. The first story of a rabbit hiding eggs in a garden was published in 1680.
2. In 2014, sales of chocolate at Easter time made up 10% of UK chocolate spending for the whole year.
3. The traditional act of painting eggs is called Pysanka.
4. Pretzels used to be associated with Easter because the twists of the pretzel were thought to resemble arms crossing in prayer.
5. The name Easter is said to originate from Eostre, the Anglo-Saxon (and previously, German) goddess of dawn. According to one of the Grimm brothers, she is "goddess of the growing light of spring." She was later associated with hares. But there is only one respected source for information on Eostre, a work by the monk and scholar, Venerable Bede.
6. The Easter Bunny gained his characteristics in Germany, where he was a kind of Springtime Santa Claus, delivering Easter treats to children. He was known as Osterhase. The children would build a nest for him to leave their eggs in. This eventually became our modern Easter basket.
7. The earliest Easter Eggs were hen's or duck's eggs decorated and painted in bright colours with vegetable dye and charcoal.
8. If you placed all the Cadbury Creme Eggs made in a year from end to end, they would stretch from Bournville to Sydney, Australia and if you stacked them up on top of each other, they would be ten times higher than Mount Everest.
9. The tradition of eating lamb at Easter comes from the Jewish Passover holiday. Christians adopted the lamb as a symbol of Jesus and kept the tradition going.
10. During the 19th century, when many families were unable to get to the closest town hall to file a birth certificate, you could inscribe an egg with the newborn's name and birth date to use as identification. It was completely legal and accepted by courts and other authorities.
11. It is good luck to find a double-yoked egg on Easter.